Syrian rioters set tomb of Hafez al-Assad ablaze in Qardaha

According to an initial report from AFP, rebel groups and bystanders torched the mausoleum of the ousted Syrian president's father in the Latakia region.

 Rebel fighters stand next to the burning gravesite of Syria's late president Hafez al-Assad at his mausoleum in the family's ancestral village of Qardaha in the western Latakia province on December 11, 2024, after it was stormed by opposition factions. (photo credit: AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)
Rebel fighters stand next to the burning gravesite of Syria's late president Hafez al-Assad at his mausoleum in the family's ancestral village of Qardaha in the western Latakia province on December 11, 2024, after it was stormed by opposition factions.
(photo credit: AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Rioters set the tomb of ex-Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez in his hometown of Qardaha, foreign media outlets reported on Wednesday, citing footage taken by locals.

According to an initial report from AFP, rebel groups and bystanders torched the mausoleum of the ousted Syrian president's father in the Latakia region.

The facility also houses the tomb of other family members, including Bashar's older brother Bassel, who was initially groomed to take power before a fatal car crash in 1994.

Assad flew out of Damascus on Sunday as rebels entered the capital with no sign of army deployments. 

Bashar al-Assad flees Syria

A Syrian Air plane took off from the Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website. 

 Rebel fighters stand with the flag of the revolution on the burnt gravesite of Syria's late president Hafez al-Assad at his mausoleum in the family's ancestral village of Qardaha in the western Latakia province on December 11, 2024, after it was stormed by opposition factions and set ablaze. (credit: AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)
Rebel fighters stand with the flag of the revolution on the burnt gravesite of Syria's late president Hafez al-Assad at his mausoleum in the family's ancestral village of Qardaha in the western Latakia province on December 11, 2024, after it was stormed by opposition factions and set ablaze. (credit: AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

The aircraft initially flew towards Syria's coastal region, a stronghold of Assad's Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map.

Just hours earlier, rebels announced they had gained full control of the key city of Homs after only a day of fighting, leaving Assad's 24-year rule dangling by a thread.